Motor vehicle equipment racks are mounted on a vehicle's exterior to transport bicycles, skis, surfboards, kayaks, and other cargo. The racks may be mounted to the top or sides of a vehicle, but some popular devices are rear-mountable using a vehicle trailer hitch receiver. A typical bicycle mount rack includes a portion attachable to the vehicle's hitch receiver, and a mast structure extends upward from the hitch-attached portion to an attachment rack that is secured to the bicycle's frame. Other hitch-mounted racks provide a platform that supports bicycle wheels or a wing-shape from underneath its wheels.
These racks are commonly frustrating to use. They are large and heavy, making them difficult to install, and in some cases, they completely prevent access to the trunk or rear door of the motor vehicle while they are attached. Some have a hinge that allows the mast to be vertically pivoted downward away from the rear of the vehicle, but this can be undesirable since bicycles and other equipment usually must be removed from the attachment rack before folding down. Then, even after folding, the mast and racks attached to it are a nuisance in accessing the rear door or trunk since they extend horizontally away from the center of the rear of the vehicle and must be stepped over or otherwise navigated around. Removing the rack to access the rear of the vehicle is not a preferable option, since the size and weight of the racks makes them difficult to handle, transport, and store once separated from the vehicle. Some products attempt to address these issues by extending the rack rearward from the trailer hitch, thereby making the rear of the vehicle easier to access between the rack and the vehicle and spacing the cargo on the rack from the vehicle. These provide only modest improvement, since the user is still required to squeeze between the rack and the vehicle, and they are still not compatible with vehicles having vertically- or horizontally-opening rear door.
Racks that are not mounted to a trailer hitch partially address these problems by strapping the rack to the car or using another attachment means, but these can be even more difficult to remove than hitch mounts, may damage the finish of the vehicle, usually don't hold enough weight, and are not compatible with every kind of vehicle. Thus, improved convenience and effectiveness of existing rack apparatuses are desired.